Young Love

For those of you who have never met Elias, one thing you must know is that he is quite shy. He does not like to be approached by strangers. He does not often interact with other kids his age. It’s pretty typical of his age group, I think, but Elias seems to exhibit some social anxieties beyond what is “normal.” In other words…he’s just like I was.

So it was quite refreshing to see him playing with another little girl at church today. She is almost one year to the day older than him. She has a lot more vocabulary, and he barely comes up to her shoulders. But they played together anyway. Afterward, at our coffee hour/reception, Elias and his new friend were running around on the grass together.

There were a few moments, though, when my heart nearly exploded out of the cuteness it was taking in. Elias and his friend were not only running around together, but were leading each other around, holding hands! They also hugged a few times. Elias walked toward me, hand in hand with his new friend…his face was beaming, and he said, “Momma, hand!” (Telling me that he was holding hands with her). That is one of the mental video clips I never want to forget.